One of a Kind
by Blupudding
Summary: A trainer goes on a Pokémon Journey that may change his life. Rated for future content.


One of a Kind Author's Note: Well, here it is. My first published story on fanfiction.net. I hope you have a good time reading this. I know I'm having a fun time writing it. I won't be like some people who beg for reviews, but your opinion is valued. By the way, I am Josh Wallen, and Josh's opinions in this story generally will match my own. Okay, then. Enjoy the first chapter!  
  
Bright red light shone eerily from the clock setting on top of the dresser. 6:59. The young man in the bed across the room was having quite a dream. In it, he was in the annual Pokemon tournaments for 2003. "Well," he thought to himself, "that's weird. It's only..."  
  
The clock radio clicked on, and Josh Wallen jumped about a foot in the air, and bonked his head on the bed above him. "OW! What the..." The morning sun shone in through the window, and he might have thought it was time for school had it not been for the light. This would be the day he was starting his Pokemon Journey! "Heh, no wonder I had that dream! Must have been a sign of things to come!" he thought to himself as he got out of bed.  
  
Josh lived in Tenko, an area to the southeast of Kanto, and today was his fourteenth birthday. He could have... some would say SHOULD have started four years before, when he was ten. Instead, he stayed behind everyone else, and learned as much as he could about Pokémon. He had originally planed to go to Kanto when he turned 15, and compete in their tournament. However, when he was twelve, the Tenko League had opened up. Although it was new, most who had gone through it the year had liked it better than Johto's, and some had said it was nearly as advanced as Kanto's! Also, since Josh had stayed behind so long, he had an age advantage over the other starting trainers.  
  
Not that he was the only one who waited. Other people did too. Not many, but some. In any case, he and a trainer named Steven Deakens would be leaving Johnson Town today, and Josh expected to be his rival. Josh and Steven had always been good friends, but both figured a little friendly competition never hurt anyone.  
  
In Johnson Town, you could pick one of three starters, as is regulation. Here there was a choice of Charmander, Chikorita, or Marril. Josh wanted to get to Prof. Ari's lab first so he could get first pick.  
  
He stepped out into the cool morning light and stretched. The air was breezy, and the grass shone with morning dew. Josh started walking in the direction of the Professor's lab. On his way, he started wondering who he would pick. Charmander, a fire type, would be the most difficult to train, but would turn out to be the most powerful of the three. Chikorita, the grass type, would be good early on, but eventually become fairly weak. Marril, the water type, was well rounded, but only had two evolutions.  
  
He walked into the lab and over to Professor Ari. "Hello Josh! Would you do me a favor and get those papers over there for me?" Josh did so. "Uh... Professor?" Josh said, "The Pokemon?" Josh laughed inwardly. The Professor had always been a bit absent-minded about things. "OH!" he said suddenly, "Right! Follow me please!" He led Josh through between two bookshelves in the middle of his lab, and into a room where three Pokeballs set on the table. "So Steven's not here yet?" Josh asked hopefully. "Yes, that's right. Knowing him, I'd doubt he's even out of bed yet!"  
  
Josh looked the three Pokéballs over. Below each one was a piece of paper showing a picture, and the Tenko Pokedex excerpt. Josh read each one a couple times, considered his options, smiled, and grabbed Charmander. "Ah! Nice choice. I see you're pretty confident in yourself, picking something as hard to train as he is." Josh wasn't worried. "Hey, I've done my homework Professor." Indeed he had. He had long since begun reading every Pokémon book he could find. "Just don't let your extra knowledge go to your head," Professor Ari said. "Oh, I won't! I'll see you later Professor!" As Josh left, he grabbed his new Pokedex off the counter and put it in his inside vest pocket. He headed back home to pack up.  
  
Grabbing his backpack, he threw all of his school stuff out of it, since he wouldn't be going to school. (Wannabe Trainers could graduate at age 14, provided they had good grades.) He put some extra cloths in it first, followed by his Game Boy Advance. (With Pokémon Blue, Yellow, and Crystal, of course!) He stuck a ton of books he needed to read on top of that, finally finishing with a tape recorder. Then he utilized a new technology. Grabbing a small, earth-toned item that would have been easily mistaken for a Pokéball, he held it to his backpack as if calling in a Pokémon. The backpack shimmered, and disappeared. Technology had advanced quite a bit since early 1996, when the Kanto League had opened up. Josh usually didn't approve of technology that made it easier to train, but this saved space, which, he supposed, one would need a lot of with no car.  
  
Rather than strapping Pokégear to his wrist, Josh instead put a slightly wrinkled map of Kanto in his jean pocket. He walked over to his dresser drawer and pulled out a measly 300 yen, all the money he had not used in buying his Pokémon License. Going over to his PC, he established an uplink with the Pokémon League, which would allow him to withdraw and store items from any Pokémon Center in the world. Grabbing an old-style cellular phone from his desk, he dialed the Pokémon Storage system and registered, allowing him to have more than six Pokémon.  
  
And that was certainly a good thing. There were 250 discovered types of the little buggers, plus unconfirmed reports of a green, leafy Pokémon. Catching all of them would be no easy task. At the same time, catching all of them was not his number one goal. Glancing at the Storage Ball that held his Pokémon Simulator, he remembered that he only had 27 types on it, and had clocked well over 200 hours on it. His goal was to make a good team, and befriend the ones who would be helping him through his journey.  
  
He would leave at noon today, which would give him enough time to get ready to go. He ate his last home-cooked breakfast, took a shower, and finally decided to take a look at his new Pokémon. Picking up the ball and holding it, facing him. He thought about who was in it. This guy would be his friend and companion throughout his whole journey, and a very important part of how other trainers would perceive him. Closing his eyes for a second, he pushed the button down and threw it to the carpet.  
  
"Charmander!" The Pokémon's high-pitched squeal of a voice rang out as he appeared in a flash of red light. He was a medium-sized Charmander, with a bright red flame glowing on the tip of his lizard-like tail. Josh admired his new friend before stretching his hand to the little red Pokémon's paw. "Hi. I'm Josh. I'm going to be your trainer," Josh said in a soft voice like the one you would use to talk to a small child. Charmander grinned cockily and shook his hand, then crossed his arms. "Heh," Josh said, "I guess you're a bit older than you look, huh?" Charmander smirked. "Charma Charmandar Char." Taking out his Pokédex, Josh ran the age-scanner, and found that this Charmander was around two years old, and quite experienced in battling. Ari always trained the new Pokémon a bit before giving them to trainers.  
  
"Not that I needed that," Josh thought to himself cockily. 


End file.
